This invention relates to a ribbon lift mechanism for a printing apparatus such as a typewriter and a printer.
It has been proposed to use a wide multi-zone print ribbon in a printing apparatus, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. SHO62-27077 wherein a step motor is mounted on a carriage to lift each print zone of the ribbon to a print position. In this apparatus, the drive force of the step motor is transmitted also to a ribbon winding mechanism through engagement of an engaging pin with a grooved cam, to thereby perform lifting and winding the ribbon at the same time. This reduces the number of drive power sources required and therefore the cost taken for them to a minimum.
In the above printing apparatus, however, there has been one problem. That is, as the driving force of the stepping motor is transmitted to the ribbon winding mechanism through engagement of the pin with the grooved cam, it becomes necessary to drive the ribbon winding mechanism against the sliding resistance between the pin and the grooved cam. This results in need of a motor with a greater torque, and therefore increasing the costs therefor.